Various types of electrical connectors containing contacts are designed for mounting on a printed circuit board. The contacts have terminating ends for connection to appropriate circuit traces on the board, such as solder tails for solder connection to the circuit traces on the board and/or in holes in the board. Some electrical connectors have been used to make electrical connections between the circuits on different printed circuit boards. These electrical connectors include power and signal transfer connectors between the circuit boards.
Generally, such connectors include a dielectric or insulating housing that mounts one or more conductive contacts to the circuit board. The housing is configured to mate with a complimentary mating connector mounted on another circuit board. The mating of the housings also provides for the mating of the contacts contained therein. In such a manner, the configuration forms a connector assembly that includes a pair of mating connectors, such as a plug and receptacle connector, which are sometimes called male and female connectors, respectively.
Board mounted connectors may be used to provide a transfer connection of electrical power, electrical signal or both between the boards. In this case of board-to-board power connector assemblies, the connector couples power circuitry to or from power circuits on the printed circuit board. With ever-increasing density of components used in electronic packaging, electrical power connectors often are needed to carry high current between a circuit board and a complimentary mating connector or other connecting device, or between one circuit board and another circuit board. The current provided to the connecting device is distributed to various circuit traces on the circuit board.
A typical board mounted power connector includes a housing containing at least one electrical contact. A board mounted power connector assembly includes a plug connector, referred to as a male connector, and a receptacle connector, referred to as a female connector. The plug and receptacle connectors are designed to mate by fitting the housings of the plug and receptacle together while forming an electrical connection between the electrical contacts contained therewithin. The fit of the plug and receptacle must provide for a secure, reliable connection.
It is often desirable to mate circuit boards in tandem and along or within the same plane. To do so, the electrical contacts must be perpendicularly inserted into the circuit board and then redirected 90 degrees, becoming parallel with the circuit board. The housing must be similarly designed to allow for attachment upon the circuit board with an attachment face for receiving a mating connector in a direction parallel to the circuit board surface. It is desirable to reduce the profile of the connector assembly above the circuit board to improve air movement and thus increase cooling to the circuit board. In such a manner, the overall height of the mated circuit boards can be reduced and the ability to stack circuit boards above one another at a reduced overall height can be improved.
However, power connectors up to this time have been unable to provide a secure connection with a low profile connector that is capable of carrying high current density between the boards. As such, there is an unmet need to provide a power connector with a reduced profile while providing for a secure connection and the ability to carry high current.
The present invention is designed to solve the above problems with a board mounted power connectors and to provide improved features in such connectors.